importance of learning words early in life. The age of acquisition hypothesis

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explain the importance of learning words early in life. The age of acquisition hypothesis.(1000 words)

I am currently working on your question, but it would be helpful to know if the main thrust of your question is on "the importance of learning words early in life," or the theory of acquisition in general. In other words, do you want a generalized answer about the theory, or a very specific answer concerning the importance of learning language at an early age? umiat

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Hello, nike222-ga! I have answered your question as best I can from the information you provided in your question. Though I have added footnotes and ordered the paragraphs in my own way, I assume that you will want to add your own touch by re-arranging the material and putting some of the quoted references into your own words. However, you should have the essential ingredients here to formulate a paper in a manner which suits your distinctive writing style. As it stands now, the written text, minus works cited, is just about 1000 words. Please let me know if you need additional, specific information that I have not covered, or if the links do not work, *before* rating my answer. I will be happy to help you as best I can. umiat-ga Google Search Strategy age of language acquisition "age of language acquisition" Hypothesis learning language in early life ======================================= The hypothesis of language acquisition assumes that humans have a critical age during which language acquisition is likely to occur. "Most children start to speak within two years of birth," even when there is no real necessity to talk verbally. Before the actual formation of words, "children make noises that most people see as an attempt to communicate." (1) Studies in neurobiology, neurodevelopment, and early intervention show that the years from birth to five are critically important for brain development." During these early years, children develop the essential language and cognitive skills required to learn, develop their ability to manage emotions and stress, and learn to cooperate with others. (2) Neural circuits in the brain of a child continue to increase and intensify from birth to approximately age five. The development of the neural circuits "connotes that there is a critical age of language acquisition, or at least for language acquisition without special teaching and without the need for special learning." Further, "the innate neurological ability of the human brain to acquire language must be triggered by language." (3) The neural connections established early in life are solidified through repetitive experiences. The first ten years of life are most critical for learning language. Greater exposure to conversation translates to more solid language skills and increase vocabulary. There is evidence to show that the earliest components of language learning actually begin in utero."Babies are learning their native language before birth. This is made possible by the development of hearing as early as 16 weeks gestational age. A mother's voice reaches the uterus with very little distortion as the sound waves pass directly through her body. Acoustic spectroscopy, which makes possible elaborately detailed portraits of sound similar to fingerprints, has documented prenatal learning of the mother tongue. By 27 weeks of gestation, the cry of a baby already contains some of the speech features, rhythms, and voice characteristics of its mother. Newborn reactions to language are based on the sounds heard in utero: French babies prefer to look at persons speaking French while Russian babies prefer to watch people speaking Russian." (4) At a White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development in 2001, scientists reiterated that "babies seek out and acquire a tremendous amount of language information in the first year of life. Even before babies can speak, they have already figured out many of the components of language. They know which particular sounds their language uses, what sounds can be combined to create words, and the tempo and rhythm of words and phrases." (5) In most cases, children "learn language with little effort or training." There are certain common steps exhibited in learning language, however. Children generally "begin with single words and advance to two, then three and more word combinations." Words may start as a generalized reference to many different objects. For instance, a child may learn the word "dog" and use it to refer to all animals with four legs. As a child begins to learn pluralization, word formations may be inappropriate. For example, an "s" may be added to the end of every noun, such a "foots and sheeps." A child's perfection of language skills comes through "listening, watching and learning to comprehend the world around them. (6) The interrelationship between parent-child interaction from a very young age and the development of language skills cannot be denied, "Parents should sing and talk to even the youngest infants, because the verbal stimulation is crucial to how well a child develops thinking and language skills later," said a panel of experts at a White House Symposium in 1997. (7) A young child's early recognition of language before they are able to verbalize is cited as a reason to begin speech-language treatment as early as possible. "Many people falsely believe that speech-language treatment cannot and should not begin until a child begins to talk. Yet, research has shown that children know a great deal about their language even before the first word is said. For example, children can distinguish between their native language and a foreign language, use different nonverbal utterances to express different needs, and imitate different patterns of speech through babbling." (8) The ability to read is also impacted by early language skills. "Learning comes through all the senses, and language develops in the context of meaningful interactions with adults and other children. The more senses involved, the more solid the learning. Words (like "dog") have meaning because they evoke images in the mind (what a dog looks like, sounds like, smells like, how it feels to the touch). Direct experiences connected with the words to describe these experiences create solid images and understanding, which are essential for success in reading." (9) Developmental science shows a strong connection between early language development and reading. Language and reading require the same types of sound analysis. The better babies are at distinguishing the building blocks of speech at six months, the better they will be at more complex language skills at two and three years old, and the easier it will be for them at four and five years old to grasp the idea of how sounds link to letters. (5) Age is critical to attaining certain components of language skills. "It goes without arguing here that there is a critical period for language acquisition, and that it coincides roughly with puberty." (10) After puberty, children have a much harder time acquiring correct syntax and grammer. A deficit in early learning of language can have consequences in later life. In the words of G. Reid Lyon, Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch at the National Institutes of Health, "Children who do not receive a strong language and emergent literacy foundation during the preschool years frequently have difficulties comprehending and using language and developing strong reading and writing abilities throughout their school tenure. No doubt, this lack of development places these children at later risk for school failure, and for limited occupational and economic success, not to mention detriments to their well-being." (11) Works Cited 1."Evidence of a Language Instinct." http://ntc2.home.attbi.com/Ling100-3.html 2."White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development." Address by G. Reid Lyon Chief, Child Development and Behavior Branch, National Institutes of Health. Summary Comments. Dept. of Education (7/27/2001) http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/07-2001/07272001_lyon.html 3."Approach to L1 Acquisition form Epistemology." (Then to Hiramoto Kouji's HomePage) ://www.google.com/search?q=related:member.nifty.ne.jp/NLP/Cognitive_01.pdf&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N 4. "Prenatal Memory and Learning," by David B. Chamberlain, Editor. Life Before Birth http://www.birthpsychology.com/lifebefore/earlymem.htmlhttp://www.birthpsychology.com/lifebefore/earlymem.html 5."The White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development." East Wing Connections. http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/initiatives/education/earlychildhood.html 6."Can Apes Acquire Language? http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/twyford/73/thoughts.html#N_4_ 7."Talking, Singing to Baby is Vital to Brain Development." The Star Tribune (4/18/1997) http://www.luminet.net/~wenonah/new/babbrain.htm 8."Early Identification of Speech-Language Disorders." Fact Sheet. Learning Disabilities Association. http://www.ldanatl.org/factsheets/EarlyID.html 9."Build That Brain," by Diane Trister Dodge and Toni S. Bickart. Scholastic Families. http://www.scholastic.com/earlylearner/age4/learning/pre_buildbrain.htm 10."Co-Evolution of Language-Size and the Critical Period," by James R Hurford and Simon Kirby, Department of Linguistics, University of Edinburgh. http://216.239.57.100/search?q=cache:rci5P8HfBy0C:cogprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/archive/00000164/00/birdsong.s.ps+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 11."The Link Between Early Learning and Care and School Readiness," by Jen Brown. Economic Opportunity Institute. (updated 11/7/2002) http://www.econop.org/ELC/EarlyLearning/ELC-SchoolReadiness.htm

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importance of learning words early in life. The age of acquisition hypothesis